Ten Helping Hands - A Short Story
by FanFlyingFox
Summary: Lucy encounters bullies at her school, and she finds it hard to deal with them


**Hello, anyone! this is my first fan-fiction that I am willing to publish online. With my new confidence, I will happily accept feedback! This is just a small story I made imagining what would happen in a certain situation with a favorite character of mine.**

**This story was inspired by real-life situations. I find Lucy to be relatable to a part of me that I experienced in the past and sometimes still today.**

"Goodness, why do you always have to be such a _drag_?"

Lucy closed her locker and decided to ignore that sentence.

"Gotta wear _stripes_ and _black_ and everything. You're too young to be depressed."

Lucy walked down the hall. A light was then shone on her face by the mean girl. Lucy covered her eyes.

"Ahh! The vampire is afraid of the light! Run!"

Lucy turned and dashed passed the girl, running away from the mocking laughter.

* * *

"Hey, Lucy."

Lucy turned to her gothic best friend, Haiku.

"Hey."

"How are you?" she asked in her usual, monotone voice.

"As dark as ever."

"Huh."

Lucy is gothic, dark, and is described as emotionless. She may be a typical stereotype. It's hard to tell when she experiences trouble.

But there were some who knew her too well. They could pick up all the little details of her voice and actions and tell that she was upset.

* * *

"That's great, Lincoln. Now, Lucy, how was your day?"

Lucy's father, Lynn Senior, went around the dinner table to let all of his eleven kids talk about their days.

Lucy hesitated at the question.

"Y-Yeah, it was fine."

That blonde girl was glued inside Lucy's head.

"Well, are you gonna share anything that happened today?" Lincoln asked.

"I'll share no will with a brother who pokes at his sister's space."

That was easy to get away with. Teasing the only brother in the house.

"Now, calm down, Honey."

Lucy had to think of one thing, but she had forgotten almost everything about her day.

"Well, there was a math quiz today."

"And how did you think you did?"

Lucy had the pressure of twelve faces staring at her.

_Come on, tell us. We're gonna share everything, so you must, too. It's not a big deal unless it is to you._

"I don't know."

"Well, based on the results of our tutoring, I can likely predict that you've progressed in mathematics, which is an area of your struggle in the second grade. Do not worry, sibling, you will get the hang of it," Lisa interrupted. The second youngest in the family was one prodigy of a four year old. Lucy stared at the girl.

_I can see and study every facial expression you make, even with your heavily pigmented hair sealing my line of sight to your eyes. I'll know when you're lying, Lucy._

"Uh, thanks, Lisa."

"No problem. I am always glad to help my fellow siblings with education. Now, let's listen to whatever tomfoolery Lana has gotten herself in today," she said with a smile.

* * *

Lucy was born right after Lincoln, the only boy in the house. Yes, she looked entirely different from everybody, but so did Lincoln. The only big difference is that he is a boy. In this conclusion, it usually set up all the sisters to look after him instead. Everyone looked after each other, but Lucy had noticed that she, being the most independent, was the most ignored. Sure, she hid herself from many people, but she was the last head to be counted in the family van. She was easily assumed to be happily sad.

Lucy paced to her room and grabbed her poetry book. She stared at the head sculpture in her room.

"Sigh. Edwin, you wouldn't run from such a horrible fret. You would terrorize her immediately, and leave her for the vultures. I couldn't do such a thing. I'm stuck in a school. Plus, I'm not a vampire."

Lucy grabbed the pen on her shelf and opened her book. She flipped to an empty page.

"Emily

Hair dirty blonde

Face too frighteningly mean

Stuck in the same building

She makes me want to scream

-Lucy L. Loud"

She slammed her book shut. She had spilled her feelings simply, but there was still that aggression inside her mind.

* * *

"Hey, do you guys know where you put the toothpaste?"

The Loud family had all gathered in the bathroom to brush their teeth and such to save time before bed. Lucy wanted to head to her room before Lynn Jr, who shared it, would come in and bang her softball across the wall on her side, causing an annoyance.

"Sure, Lucy. I put it up here," Lori, the oldest, reached for the toothpaste on the top counter, where the younger ones could not reach. She struggled to grab it without nudging someone. She accidentally slipped from stepping on Leni's foot, and fell over, pushing Lucy to the wall.

"Oops! I'm so sorry, Lucy. Leni, watch your feet."

Leni, the second oldest, sweetest, but not the brightest, smiled. "Ok!" She then turned her head down and stared at her feet.

"Here you go, Luce."

"Th-thanks..."

_What if Emily pushed me against the wall at school? What if everyone laughed at me?_

The black-haired girl stared at Lily, the baby, as she giggled at her older sister.

_What if they side with her? What if she spreads rumors about me? They'll stare at me down the hall. They'll walk by her side and snicker at me._

Lucy hurriedly brushed her teeth in front of the mirror like it was a race. She had to do everything quickly. Then she paced to her room, luckily before Lynn, and slid into her bed. The lights were off, and the door was only cracked just a bit. She could hear the faint laughing of her siblings in the distance.

* * *

_Everyone hates emos. No one likes to be with anyone negative. But they don't know your story, do they? Does that matter, though? Because everyone is going to judge you. In the future, people will judge you for who you are for an easy pick. It's life. No one normal is stupid enough to watch dumb old shows about fictional Victorian times. No one normal has a crush on a fictional character. No one normal wears black all day and says the words 'sigh' and 'gasp' out loud. It's stupid to want to be sad and monotone all the time. Who wants to be friends with someone like that? All your siblings have something likable and fun about them, but not you. You don't even match with them. You're not loud, you're not fun, and you're certainly NOT-_

"LUCY!"

Lucy stopped thinking. She realized where she was and what she was doing.

"Lucy, you're _bawling..._"

Lucy slowly removed the pillow away from her face.

"Lucy... are... are you alright?!"

Lucy stared at her sporty older sister, Lynn.

"And no, I don't mean, 'as dark as ever,' I mean, you're really upset!"

Lucy sat up in her bed. She slowly sniffled and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her nose pointed to the bedsheets, heavily embarrassed.

Lynn sat next to her. Heavy concern laid in her eyes. She patiently waited for her sister to speak.

"I... There's... School..."

"What's wrong, Sis?" She whispered.

"Sigh. You wouldn't understand." She forced the pillow onto her face again and let more tears roll away from her eyes.

"Listen, Lucy, you can tell me. I'm honestly the best person to talk to at this point. I know you better than most sisters."

Lucy stared audibly crying again. She compressed the pillow tightly against her face.

"Come on... don't make me get in there!"

"Ok, ok..." Lucy removed the pillow from her face and sat up. Lynn scooted closer to her.

"There's this kid... at school... and... she keeps bullying me!" She burst into tears and slammed the pillow against her face once more. "She won't leave me alone at my locker. I'm right by her."

"Are you kidding me?!" Lynn burst. "Of course I understand your situation! I've been bullied plenty enough in middle school."

Lucy felt dumb for forgetting about that fact of her sister.

"It's honestly the worst feeling ever! And you know what I did?"

Lucy removed the pillow and stared at her sister.

"I got tough. And I showed those bullies who's the strong one around town. And now they don't pick on me!"

Lucy fell back on her bed. "Sigh. But I'm not like you, Lynn. What do I do when she keeps shining a light at me, like being a vampire is a bad thing?"

Lynn's anger started to become visible. "She's flashing her phone light on you?"

"Yeah, and says things like I'm too young to act who I am."

Lynn stepped out of Lucy's bed. "I'm going to march _right_ into Lincoln's room and he better take action or-"

"Lynn, no! Please," Lucy cried.

Lynn turned around a sighed. "Ok, I get it. I know you're mostly private about your things, but, come on!"

Lucy put her hands on her head. Lynn sat up on Lucy's bed again.

"Tell a teacher! I know it can be hard, but her behavior is not acceptable!"

"I really am just a fool," she covered her face again with the soft pillow.

"No, you're not," Lynn sternly stated. "You're not 'too young' to, or, whatever! Think about Lisa. She's four, Lucy! And does that stop her from studying way beyond her level? She may be born with that gift in her head, but she could choose whether to be herself or not."

"Sigh... Lynn, I'm not fun like the rest of you. You have friends who are fun like you, and everyone else."

"Lucy, don't be ridiculous." She put her hand on her younger sister's shoulder, pulling her up. "Do you think that Lori or Leni's friends would want to hang out with my team members like Margo?"

Lucy was thinking about it, but Lynn interrupted.

"Heck no! We wrestle each other and throw food and punch each other... and honestly that's probably the stupidest stuff we do in our free time. I doubt Leni or Lori's friends could handle such messes we are," she laughed. "We each have our different squad! I know you have friends, I know Haiku's your bestie! And she watches your shows, and you write stuff with her, and..."

Lucy stared at her sister for a moment. "But Lynn,"

"No buts. My point is, everyone is different in their own way. And you're a special little black-haired girl." She rubbed the top of Lucy's head. Lucy could not help but giggle a little bit. "And even Lori and Leni like your show now! But that's besides my point. You're great as yourself, Lucy. Don't ever think otherwise." She patted her shoulder. "Ok?"

Lucy slowly nodded. "Ok."

Lynn hugged her sister. "I love ya, sis!"

The sporty girl walked to her bed and pulled herself under the covers.

Lucy stared at the ceiling and thought about the things her sister said.

* * *

"It's time for school! Come on! To the car!" Lori yelled at her siblings. Each rushed down from the stairs one at a time.

"Five, six, seven and eight, I didn't see any black hair! Lucy! And where's Lynn?"

"Hold your hockey sticks, Lori!" Lynn yelled. She looked at Lucy. "Come on, it's gonna be ok. If there's any trouble, there are plenty of people to talk to and tell what's happening!"

Lynn walked Lucy down the stairs with her hand on her shoulder.

"You two are literally dragging us behind!" Lori shouted.

Lynn rolled her eyes. "Cool it, we're getting in the car."

* * *

Lucy was the last out the car door to head to the elementary school. She walked behind Lisa at a slow pace, dreading the future. The twins in front were chatting away, and Lincoln kept his head up.

_What if they all saw it? What if one of them looked and became involved? They would see me as weak._

Luckily, Lucy's turn in the hall was opposite from the others as she headed inside the building. She paced to her locker and fiddled with the code as fast as possible. She grabbed two of her books, and-

"I didn't know vampires could _read_,"

An audible laughter was heard.

Lucy clenched her books and walked away.

A book was snatched from her hands.

"Hey!"

"The last thing an emo needs is more sadness. You're just faking it, right?"

Her backpack was grabbed from behind.

"Give that back!"

"Ugh, what's in here, anyway? History? Bleh." The blonde tossed the book down the hall. The girl grabbing Lucy pushed her toward the direction, and they both howled in laughter. "What a drag..."

Lucy rushed to pick up her book from down the hall. She breathed heavily.

"Lucy?"

The dark-haired girl turned around. She saw her little crush, Rocky.

"Rocky?"

"Hi, I saw your book get thrown... what was that all about?"

"Sigh. Ok, this girl that has a locker next to me keeps bullying me."

"Oh. Is her name Emily?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"She's mean to everyone in my classes. I mean, she likes to pick on anyone who speaks. I just try to avoid her."

"I wish I could." Lucy moaned.

"Hey, I should tell the teacher about this. I don't want to see you get bullied."

"I don't know, Rocky..."

"It's the best thing to do. Don't worry about it, I'll take the trouble from here."

Lucy smiled and blushed slightly. "Ok. Thanks, Rocky."

* * *

Since Lori and the older's high school schedule dismissed everyone earlier than Lynn's middle school and the rest's elementary, Lucy had to walk home. It was not too long to walk there. Her writing club took time after school, so she had to leave later and walk home by herself. It was better since none of the siblings would ask about her day. She could easily think to herself.

Down the first block away from school, Lucy turned around the corner by the intersection. She waited for the light to go. She looked at the sky, thinking less of the situation. She thought about Rocky, and how cute he was...

"Hey!"

Lucy was yanked by her backpack.

"Hey Vampire! What are you doing in the sunlight?"

"Dang it," she whispered.

"Huh? Didn't you tell on me?" The bully growled. "You told a teacher on me, didn't you? Tattletale!"

The girl behind her laughed to her sentences.

Lucy pulled herself away from the girl and ran across the street when the light turned to go. The girls chased after her.

Lucy was caught up to and her backpack was slipped off by the other girl.

"Hey!"

Her friend grabbed Lucy by the arms to prevent her from reaching toward Emily.

"Oh, I wonder what's in here, really."

She tossed books out on the sidewalk.

"Ugh, predictable. Is this your poetry book?" She flipped through the pages. "Only depressed idiots write poetry like this."

Lucy felt her heart sink inside her chest. She was scared that anything would happen to her book with so much work written down.

Emily threw the book on the sidewalk, aiming for the mud on the edge. She giggled, and she and her friend pushed the black-haired girl harshly onto the sidewalk. Lucy hit her head.

"Such a drag!"

"Just wants attention."

"So dramatic."

_Am I bleeding? My head hurts. Am I really that bad of a person? I can't help myself. I'm just a weak fool._

"HEY!"

There was a familiar voice in the distance. Lucy was too busy picking up her books and putting them in her bag before they could tear apart the sheets. She quickly shoved everything inside it at her chance.

"Who do you two think you are? _The queens of Royal Woods?_ Well I think not!"

Lucy zipped her backpack. She turned to see her sister, Lynn.

The sporty girl was grabbing the younger ones by the shirt collars. "What did you do to my sister, huh?"

Now the girls were cowering in fear. They flopped like fish in Lynn's hands, trying to escape her grasp.

"Say you're sorry!"

"S-sorry!" They stuttered.

"Now what're you gonna do?"

"Go home-"

"Leave her alone-"

"Now say it to her!"

"Sorry!"

"Sorry!"

"Now go home before I kick your butts!" the middle schooler yelled, making them flee like chickens.

Lynn then rushed to her sister, leaving her sports bag and school bag on the sidewalk. "Oh my gosh, Lucy are you ok?"

Lucy had not noticed she was holding her head the whole time. She was crouched down low and shaking.

Lynn moved Lucy's hand and noticed she was slightly bleeding.

"Oh my goodness, Lucy, we're coming home now." Lynn sprinted to her bangs and picked them up. She went back to Lucy helped her stand up. "How much does it hurt?"

"Lynn..."

"Come on. I'll walk you home."

* * *

"I'm not going in the front!"

"No, this is serious, Lucy."

"Please don't. I don't want to add more drama to this. Please."

"It's not more drama! You got hit on the head and you need immediate care! This is serious and everyone needs to know. Up the stairs, now."

"No. It's embarrassing."

"It's not. I've gotten hit plenty of times before."

"But it wasn't a big deal. I don't want this to be a big deal."

"Listen... I won't make it one. And you're bleeding. They have a reason to be upset. It's like if Lincoln was getting picked on. You'd help him, right?"

Lucy hesitated. Lynn was right. She lowered her head.

"Come inside," she offered.

"Sigh."

Lucy walked up the stairs as Lynn put the key in the door. She opened it and let Lucy inside.

"Hey."

"Lynn?"

"Lucy!"

"Oh my gosh!"

"Are you bleeding?"

"What happened?"

"I'll get the first aid."

Lynn looked at her sister with empathy. She wanted Lucy to tell the story. She sat on the couch.

"Sigh. Ok, there are these mean girls at school by my locker. I didn't tell anyone until today, and they pushed me around when they found out. If it wasn't for Lynn, they wouldn't have ran away after learning their lesson."

Lisa was already wrapping her sister's head with a white bandage. Lincoln and Leni sat on both sides of her. Leni had picked up baby Lily to let her kiss the side of her head. Lucy could not help but giggle a little bit at her baby sister.

"We're always here for you, Lucy," Lincoln said.

"Yeah! I'm not letting any punk chase you on the sidewalk!" Lola shouted.

"Or get _a-head_ of you!" Luan laughed. The other siblings glared at her. "But really, we're sorry, Lucy."

"Yeah dude! We've all been picked on before, haven't we?" Luna asked.

Everyone agreed.

"But you shouldn't let that bother you! So what if they're talking about who you are? You're perfect the way you are, dude!"

Everyone agreed in a more audible tone.

"We're here for you."

"You're a cool gal."

"Yeah!"

Lisa finished her procedure. "Luckily, you did not sustain a major injury to your cranium."

Lynn squirmed herself in a spot on the couch and wrapped her arm around Lucy. "We're here to help you as much as you need. Don't feel embarrassed, Lucy. We all need help with something."

Lucy smiled. She did not realize her siblings' care would make her feel better about herself.

They all hugged Lucy. Lynn hugged her the tightest, assuring the girl that she was supported and protected by all her wonderful siblings.

"Thanks guys."

* * *

"Come on guys, out the door!" Lori yelled. "Six seven eight nine, now _wait,_"

Lucy stopped at the door. She was afraid of Lori lecturing her about bullies.

But Lori stopped to lightly kiss the bandage on Lucy's head. "There. Now you're ready for school."

As Lori drove her car and the kids chattered away, Lucy opened her poetry book and smiled when she wrote.

"Recovery

Sometimes it's quick

And sometimes it's slow

Ten to help me walk through it

And that I sure know

Lucy L. Loud"

~End


End file.
